Oddbean

Start9 says "self-sovereign computing" But they use Gmail https://simplifiedprivacy.com/start9.png What's being promoted is to buy hardware to host your own Bitcoin node, which means spending money on SSDs, to confirm OTHER PEOPLE'S transactions. But then letting corrupt third parties run YOUR email and instant messaging, which if you were to self-host these would actually dramatically improve your life. Today, I flip the script.. Get a self-host email & XMPP/SimpleX WITH your Bitcoin node! Start9 charges $599 for their node hardware. For that same cost, you could get over 3 years of a VPS with a Bitcoin node, Lightning, Email, and your pick of XMPP & SimpleX. If hosting web traffic in a residential home was any good, then Start9 wouldn't be hosting their website on Digital Ocean, the largest and most centralized provider. On top of that, residential homes can't do email, so their MX records go to Google. In 3-4 years, will start9 discs be any good? Bitcoin wears SSDs to the bone. But with a VPS, you pass that onto the provider to deal with. Plus you get great cloud services. Email is misunderstood. Corrupt Protonmail spews propaganda from their holes about privacy. But they are weak clowns receiving the emails in plaintext, and then they claim to do encryption to hide it from themselves, which is a conflict of interest. Then to decrypt it, you enter your password into their web app, which nobody inspects the source code for each time. Proton doesn't even fight the THOUSANDS of court cases a year. They will let you be jailed to save money. And speaking of money, these bitches don't even accept lightning. They couldn't even setup 1 BTCPay server!? On the other hand, with the system I'm proposing to you, you would truly be in control of your life. For just $120 in circular economy btc, you'd be getting the most of your VPS, and become king of both your registered accounts that require email, and the privacy that comes from any lightning payments you do. We hand over all VPS accounts to you to change the passwords, but if you need us, you get a full YEAR of technical support from our team. AND that $120 even includes your domain name!!! Recap: $120 in BTC, gets you: --BTCPay Setup, with help on Channels --Email --Your pick of XMPP or SimpleX relay --A domain, which you pick --A full YEAR of support asking questions. --First month of VPS included. You pay the provider after, 14 euros (or less) a month. Are you going to let Start9 and Proton urinate on you, or seize control of your own destiny, as a self-sovereign king? Reach out.